(For departing aircraft: Unless you are flying patterns, please file your flight plan before contacting ATC.)
Also
Please only use “Remaining in the Pattern” if you are planning on doing touch&gos/patterns!Otherwise, please use the “departing north, south, east, west" or "straight out” command.
Take-off clearance was great, no issues with that.
Sequence was not given at any time of my traffic pattern (Specifically to me).
The “Clear for the option” command was given too late, I was in the short final, It’s better early than late. The third time, I did not receive touch-and-go clearance so I had to go around.
The “Turn base” command was not necessarily, you made me turn base when an aircraft was on short final, so we could have crashed there, my aircraft turned yellow which was close.
The “exit runway” command was given at 40 knots, which is considered late.
I appreciate the feedback. I know the basics of how to control an airport, but the more difficult stuff like the pattern works I’m still working on. I will work on what you said next time.
Below you will find feedback from today’s session. This feedback should be viewed as constructive advice, so that you can perform the best that you can for the future and beyond!
FEEDBACK N1DS (1/4/21)
I was given a transition altitude of 5000’. In the ATC Manual (Section 3.4.4), it states that all aircraft must be given a transition altitude following the equation as follows: Pattern Altitude (Prop = 1000’ AGL, Jet Aircraft = 1500’ AGL) + 1000’ = Transition altitude. In our case, Fort Lauderdale Airport’s elevation AGL is about 60Ft. Since I was flying in a B737, my pattern altitude would be 1500’ AGL. Therefore, my transition altitude would need to be 2500’.
The pattern entry was spot on, great job!
I wasn’t given a clearance until end of base/start of final. Be sure to give clearances as early as realistically possible in order to keep your airspace organized.
Upon requesting a runway change to 10L, I was given right DW. While that instruction wasn’t bad per se, there are a few alternate things you could’ve done in that situation. The first thing you could’ve done is told American to LIAW whilst telling me to enter left DW 10L. If there were more aircraft, this would allow you to keep your airspace organized by keeping your downwinds to aircraft flying to each specific runway. The next thing you could’ve done was extended my upwind and waiting until American was well into his downwind and maybe his base (since he was a Cessna) to give me a pattern entry.
Keeping all of these possibilities in mind, these are only suggestions, and it is up to you the controller to make a decision on what is the best option to use based upon the situation at hand.
I (or American) had not received a sequence when needed. I essentially had no idea when you wanted me to turn base, since I knew there was a Cessna on LDW. Either, you could’ve put me behind AmericanVA (in this case, you would need to make sure to extend my DW due to the fact that I would need increased separation due to my aircraft’s size difference). Or, you could’ve sequenced American behind me, instructed me to turn base, and then clear accordingly. Remember to give sequences, as they are one of the most important aspects of Local Services.
I hadn’t received a Exit Runway Command. As stated in the ATC Manual (Section 3.5.1), exit runway commands should be given at speeds around 70KTS for jet aircraft. Important tips to note: If there is terrain or no parking available on the right side of the airfield (for example), you would opt to giving a runway exit to the left. Additionally, if you’d like an exiting runway to expedite their exit (due to traffic, etc), there are a few expedited exit runway commands you can use like (Expedite by itself and/or Traffic on final/base).
All in all, you performed great for your first tracking thread session! Be sure to review the feedback, along with your replay, so that you can perfect your skills to become the best controller you can be! :) I look forward to seeing as you progress! Thanks for having me tonight, and have an amazing night!